"Miss Pingting, can you give this golden carp to Pheasant Slave?"
Li Zhi stepped forward and reached out to lift the golden carp from the ground. Perhaps it was an illusion. Li Zhi felt that the body of the fish was trembling slightly?
"Of course! Mr. Ninth has great vision. Carps like this are rare. It took me a lot of effort to catch it from the Jing River."
As the eldest grandson Pingting spoke, she did not forget to glance sideways at Qin Huaiyu.
"However, Ninth Young Master, no matter how anxious you are, you still have to wait. You can't just eat it raw, right?"
Changsun Pingting was obviously wrong, but she could not hide her pride.
This kind of golden carp, she had heard her master occasionally mention it, was really a rare thing.
It is said that this fish has a trace of the blood of a real dragon, and eating it can greatly nourish people. Especially for cultivators like them, it can strengthen the physical body and stabilize the mind.
Li Zhi smiled, held the golden carp in his hand and came to the Jing River, mumbling something.
"I don't know if you can understand it. I can see that you are a fish with spiritual intelligence. It is not easy to be born like this."
"I don't want to see you die unexpectedly and be buried in my belly. Go home as soon as possible. Don't be so careless when you come out to play in the future..."
Spreading his hands, the golden carp made a soft "plop" sound and returned to the Jing River again. It swam as far as it could with its tail, and seemed to look back at Li Zhi?
"Ninth Young Master, why did you let that fish go? I caught it with great difficulty—"
Seeing Li Zhi's series of operations, Changsun Pingting on the side was slightly unhappy, and Lao Gao pursed her lips.
"Haha, you are also a cultivator. You should know that everything in the world has spirituality. The fish just now has clearly opened up spiritual wisdom. If we eat it again, we may break the Taoist heart."
For some reason, as he continued to recite the "Song of Righteousness", Li Zhi seemed to feel that his nature was being influenced by something inexplicable.
If Kong Yingda were here, he would be able to clearly sense that there is a faint "haoran righteousness" slowly growing in Li Zhi at this moment.
"Well, let's just think of it as doing good deeds. It's just a pity that it's not that easy to come across such a rare treasure again."
The eldest grandson Pingting still has some regrets. She was lucky enough to become a disciple of her master. Unfortunately, her cultivation has been shallow and she has not yet reached the innate realm, that is, she has not yet entered the "qi training period", so she cannot be considered a true monk.
When she saw the golden carp, Changsun Pingting had a hunch that this fish should be her chance to break through. Unfortunately, now...
Naturally, Li Zhi could see her frustration and hurriedly tried to persuade her.
"Miss Pingting, that fish is what the pheasant slave owes you. As compensation, I can teach you the ten movements of the 'bird show' in the 'five-animal show'."
"I see that the movement skills you have learned are extremely fast. If you add the ten "Bird Play" moves, you may be able to reach a further level."
Li Zhi had already felt that the "Five Animal Opera" he practiced was different. It seemed that even Sun Simiao himself did not have such a high attainment. Or was there originally two sets of "Five Animal Opera"?
"Really? That's great. Pingting, thank you so much, His Highness Prince Jin! -"
This little girl was so happy that she even forgot about the agreement she made before going out, and directly called "His Royal Highness King Jin".
"Haha, we are all our own people, so there is no need to be so polite. Brother Huaiyu's family has a long history, so I shouldn't have said anything else."
"However, the tiger and ape plays in the 'Five Animals' are one powerful and the other agile. If you can practice it diligently, you will definitely gain something. I wonder if Brother Huaiyu is interested?"
"Really? Can I also practice His Highness's 'Five Animals'? Dad once said that the 'Five Animals' in His Highness' hands is the real magic, but His Highness's current level is too low..."
Qin Huaiyu never expected that such a good thing could happen to him. He once asked his father Qin Qiong about Li Zhi's rapid progress in practice.
In addition to the secrets that cannot be told, Qin Qiong also told his two sons that the "Five Animals Play" practiced by Li Zhi is a supreme and wonderful method.
In joy, Qin Huaiyu said Qin Qiong's original words without noticing that his current state was far behind Li Zhi.
After preaching and teaching, the three of them also had young minds. After a hearty meal, they lit two more bonfires under the bright moonlight.
After spending most of the night, Li Zhi taught the three methods to Qin Huaiyu and Changsun Pingting. Invisibly, the two people's gratitude and dependence on Li Zhi became stronger.
The two of them were so excited that they had learned a new wonderful method. They didn't even bother to sleep, so they each found a place to practice intensively all night long.
Li Zhi didn't care what they did and continued to stay in the tent and recite the "Song of Righteousness". Unfortunately, he never found the feeling of "liquefaction of true energy" again.
On the contrary, the aura that pervaded the intersection of Jing and Wei was unceremoniously inhaled by Li Zhi, and the black air ball that symbolized martial arts became much more solid again.
There was nothing to say all night, and it was dawn the next day.
Li Zhi greedily absorbed the first ray of purple energy from the east when the sun rose.
The food is good, but it’s a pity that it only comes once a day, and the quantity is so small that it’s not enough to keep you full.
The three of them had not slept all night, but they were still in high spirits and not at all tired.
"Ninth Young Master, shall we set off today, or shall we stay one night?"
Perhaps because of the fruitful harvest last night, these two people were somewhat nostalgic for this place.
"Brother Huaiyu, let's get started. After all, it's important to do business. As for cultivation, you can do it anytime, anywhere, so why bother with it?"
Li Zhi made a decision, and the two of them naturally didn't feel like saying anything else. They packed up skillfully and prepared to set off.
"Ninth Young Master, it would be great if there was a boat. We can go to the other side of the Jing River first and then turn eastward. The road will be easier."
"If we just take the dry road, not to mention the barren mountains and ridges, we have to go around more than 300 miles in vain——"
Changsun Pingting took out the marching map she carried with her. Although the drawing was a bit rough, the directions and routes were roughly marked.
When he saw this map, Li Zhi realized how vast the Tang Dynasty was in this world.
In his impression, the Guannai Road where Chang'an is located and the Henan Road where floods occurred are close to each other. Luoyang is the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty, and the distance between them is only a few hundred miles at most.
However, this map shows that it takes more than two thousand miles to travel from Chang'an to Luoyang.
This is not the entire map of the Tang Dynasty. The distance from south to north and from east to west is already over 20,000 miles. Is this still the Tang Dynasty?
So, outside of the Tang Dynasty, how much territory would there be?
"Ninth Young Master, look, there is a ferry coming -"
While Changsun Pingting was still chanting, she discovered that a boat actually appeared on the Jing River.
The three of them didn't even see clearly which direction the ship was coming from, as it seemed to appear out of thin air.
The boat is not big and will dock soon.
"You noble people, do you want to go to the other side of the Jing River?——"
There was only one old man on the boat, wearing a waterproof raincoat and a bamboo hat on his head. He had a dark face, but he was a rare big man, exuding a mighty air?
"Boatman, we want to go to the other side, but there are three of us and four horses. Your boat is too small, and the horses may not be able to carry it."
Changsun Pingting was very happy to see the ferry coming, but seeing the size of the ferry, the three of them couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
"Haha, what this girl said is wrong. As the old saying goes, a mule is a horse that comes out for a walk. Don't look at me, old man. My boat is small. Maybe it can really carry you there."
The old boatman seemed very confident. While answering Changsun Pingting's questions, he looked at the three of them, especially Li Zhi, who stayed the longest.
He was sizing up the three people on the shore, and Li Zhi was also sizing up the old boatman.
Does this figure and demeanor look like that of an ordinary old boatman?
Li Zhi had some doubts and unconsciously used the "Golden Eyes of Destruction".
Unfortunately, he was disappointed. The top of the old boatman's head was so cloudy that he couldn't see anything clearly.
Li Zhi understood that if this situation occurred, either the other party was not a practitioner at all, and was in a state of inferiority in both civil and military affairs.
Or, the other party is an extremely powerful person. Is this possible?
When he first obtained the "Golden Eyes of Destruction", Li Zhi also secretly checked on Li Shimin, Kong Yingda, Yuan Tiangang and Qin Qiong.
Among these four people, the most powerful one turned out to be Yuan Tiangang, who had just taken over the Taishi Bureau, followed by Qin Qiong, and finally Kong Yingda.
As for Li Shimin, he could only see the golden dragon of luck hovering above his head. There seemed to be a layer of energy protecting Li Shimin, which Li Zhi could not see very clearly.
Qin Qiong is a real "martial arts master", Yuan Tiangang is actually stronger than Qin Qiong, which is somewhat beyond Li Zhi's expectation.
Among the countless powerful men in the Tang Dynasty, Li Zhi was the only one he had never met before. However, the old Jinghe boatman in front of him made Li Zhi feel that he could not see through them.
To use a term from later generations, "I don't know how serious I am".
Intuition told Li Zhi that this person's cultivation level must be much higher than his own. Only in this way can he explain clearly why his "Golden Eyes for Destroying Illusion" failed.
"Since my father-in-law is so generous with his fists, the three of us will be disrespectful to him--"
Li Zhi always has an inexplicable trust in this, or in other words, if the other party is really much stronger than him, does he still need to be mysterious if he wants to be disadvantageous to him?
"Haha, you are truly a sincere gentleman. Please come aboard -"
The old boatman seemed to have figured out that Li Zhi was the leading one among the three. He smiled "haha" and stopped the boat to dock.
"Ninth Young Master, be careful..."
Before Qin Huaiyu finished speaking, he saw Li Zhi jumping on the ferry first.
Changsun Pingting and Qin Huaiyu looked at each other, smiled helplessly, and had no choice but to lead two horses each and get on the boat with Li Zhi.
Oddly enough, the ferry, which is so small when viewed from the shore, is only as long as two horses connected at its longest point.
After getting on the boat, the three of them discovered that the boat was actually very big?
Qin Huaiyu and Changsun Pingting were standing on one side holding two horses, while Li Zhi was standing close to the old boatman. The distance between the two sides was not less than two feet.
"I just heard them call you 'Nine Young Masters', but are you the ninth in the family?"
The three of them stood still, and the ferry started to move, slowly leaving the shore.
"To be honest with you, I have many brothers and sisters in my family. I am Xingjiu, so they call me 'Jiu Gongzi'. I don't know what my father-in-law's surname is, but how old is he this year?"
Although the flow of the Jinghe River is not very fast, it is impossible to cross it vertically from one side to the other side. The ferry goes northeast, and it seems that there is at least ten miles of waterway.
Now that the old man was chatting enthusiastically, Li Zhi couldn't pretend to be aloof and ignore others, right?
"Nine, the change of Yang, the basic position is Yang; also, on the ninth day of the lunar month, don't use Hidden Dragon. It's good to practice Jiu, I'm afraid Mr. Jiu is an extraordinary person——"
"As for the old man, one's surname cannot be respected. The old man's surname is '鼍'. I wonder if Jiu Gongzi has ever heard of it? I am old and can't remember how many years I have been working here."
The old man said with a smile. The oar in his hand did not move much, and the ferry sailed smoothly and quickly to the other side.
The surname is "鼍"?
Li Zhi couldn't think of anyone with this surname for a long time.
Besides, can an old boatman say such a thing?
Fortunately, Li Zhi was prepared in advance and didn't feel it was too sudden. Qin Huaiyu and Changsun Pingting heard it not far away, and they secretly increased their vigilance.
Li Zhi kept talking to the old ferryman, and the ferry slowly docked.
Waiting until all three people and four horses landed safely, and nothing unexpected happened, Li Zhi felt strange in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face.
"Thank you very much for carrying me across the river. I never asked my husband how much it cost to cross the river. I have ten taels of silver here, so I can use it to pay for the boat."
Li Zhi asked Qin Huaiyu for ten taels of silver and handed it to the old boatman with both hands.
"Haha, money is a good thing, but I can't use it so much, and I don't have the money to pay you back."
"Well, a few days ago, I happened to get an object. I can't recognize it with my naked eyes, so I gave it to the Ninth Young Master as a souvenir."
Not allowing Li Zhi to refuse, the old boatman took out a stained box from his body, forced it to Li Zhi, and then drove off.
"Ninth Young Master, this old boatman is so strange——"
After the old man's ferry disappeared completely, Qin Huaiyu murmured.
Changsun Pingting rolled her eyes at him, as if to say, if even a fool can see it, do you still need to explain it?
"Ninth Young Master, look at what gift this strange old man has given you, right?"
After all, she was still a curious little girl. If she hadn't been worried about Li Zhi's identity, Changsun Pingting would have wanted to snatch her away.
Li Zhi would not laugh at the two of them, and slowly opened the box sent by the old boatman.
A box full of stains, just opened a crack, and a rich aroma wafted out, which was intoxicating.
Li Zhi wanted to continue opening it, but was roughly stopped by Zhang Sun Pingting.
"Ninth Young Master, this thing cannot be shown to others easily. It won't be too late for us to take a look at it after we get to a safe place and I set up a formation."
Just based on the strange fragrance just now, Changsun Pingting guessed what was in the box.
That strange fragrance left a deep impression on her, and she was lucky enough to experience it once with her master.
Master used this thing, Half Liang, to make her eldest grandson Pingting almost enter the innate realm at the age of fourteen.
It's a pity that a person with such a noble status as Master is only half of it.
Judging from the richness of the strange fragrance just now, how could it be possible that the half-liang thing could do it?
Li Zhi didn't know why, but when he saw Changsun Pingting taking matters seriously, he still chose to believe her.
Even in Chang'an City, Li Zhi had never seen Changsun Pingting show such a solemn expression when she was ambushed by hidden arrows.
"It's just a small gift, but it's not respectful. Old man Jinghe, thank you Ninth Young Master for saving your little girl——"
The three of them were about to mount their horses and leave, but the old boatman's voice came to Li Zhi's ears.